A recording that captures Dr. Gary Burgess? last on-Island performance has been released.

Dr. Burgess said the CD was from his farewell recital, which was held at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts four years ago.

He said the album plays host to several of his favourite songs.

?It has mostly art songs, some Brahms and some French songs, contemporary English songs and some spirituals,? he said.

?The inspiration for this repertoire came from just songs that I love to sing. I?ve had a long history of singing lieder at the Marlboro (Music) Festival for years, in Vermont, and that was with Rudolph Ferkin.

?I also won a big prize for my French songs. It is a song called ?Henri Duparc? and that was in 1984 when I got the Claude Debussy Prize.

?Negro spirituals have always been a part of my life and I like contemporary music.?

The CD features songs like ?Die mainacht?, ?Sonntag?, Henri Duparc Melodies, like ?L?inviation? and ?Phydil?, also four Psalms and from the Spirituals he has sung ?Deep River? and ?Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.

Over his career, Dr. Burgess has sung in many of the world?s most famous opera houses and he wanted his last on-Island concert to be an intimate affair.

?I have sung opera all my life,? he said, ?But opera is big and these are just very intimate songs. Singing opera was my career, you don?t make too much money singing songs.?

The CD is on sale in the Music Box priced at $21.

@EDITRULE:

Love is the theme of a new collection of music from Bermudian country and western and folk performer Val Wallace.

Ms Wallace is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who wrote her first song at eight, has had a guitar since the age of ten and has been performing since she was 12.

Her debut CD, which is entitled ?Never Tell Them Why?, has been four years in the making.

She said the title hints at the mystery and provocative nature of the 12 original songs. She said: ?With so much diversity each song has a different feel.?

To raise funding to produce the album Ms Wallace approached several local businesses.

?Many people told me that there was no support for local musicians or local music, but that is not my story,? she said. ?I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of Bermudian business people and local musicians as I worked on this album. The radio stations have been supportive too.?

Listeners of Mix 106 Peter Lewis show or 1340 AM David Lopes show will have already heard Ms Wallace singing her upbeat country love songs, and softer folk ballads.

Some of her songs were released on radio stations prior to the finished album.

The lyrics are described as powerful, while matched with compelling melodies and anyone with life experience in the way of relationships or who has strong feelings about some of our local issues will relate to these songs.

Her musical background is the Bermuda Folk Club, but she has also appeared in several ?Um Um? musicals and one Not the Um Um Show.

The music, apart from two songs, was recorded and co-produced in a local music studio by Michael Spencer-Arscott of DDM Ltd.

Paul Shapiro of Brimstone Media designed the sleeve and photography was done by Tim Darrell of Creative Force and Cover Shots International.

All songs feature Ms Wallace on vocals and acoustic guitar and creative input from other local musicians has enhanced her recordings.

Dennis Eldridge, rhythm guitarist with the band Last Rights, contributed a guitar track to the song Lovers; Max Maybury played the flute on My Open Spaces; Sarah Danby was on the cello in ?The Butterfly?; Brian Blugerman composed a mandolin track for ?Not the Loving Kind?; Taylor Rankin played the Violin for ?The Letter?.

The CD has been released by Eddy DeMello of the Music Box on his EDMAR record label. He backed Ms Wallace after fans asked to buy her music. The CD is available at Music Box, Sound Stage and Music World and is on sale for $20.

@EDITRULE:

A classic locally produced gospel album has been released on compact disc of the renowned singing group, the Harmony Four.

The Harmony Four first released the album in 1962. The group have sung ?Coming Home?, ?Steal Away?, ?Chariot Wheels?, ?Golden Bells?, ?Go Down Moses?, ?Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?, ?God Understands?, ?Do You Know The Man, Chillun?, ?I?ll Journey On?, ?The Saints?, and ?The Whole World?.

The album features a smooth mixture of tenor, bass, and baritone voices.

The Harmony Four were Warren Williams, Eugene Richardson, Louis Thomas and Treadwell Smith.

At the time the group produced this album they had been singing for about five years and had travelled all over the United States and had to turn down an event at Carnegie Hall when one of the members became ill.

Mr. Williams wrote and arranged five of the songs appearing on the album.

Also during this recording, the group who usually sing a cappella, were joined by pianist Brian Herbert.

The CD is on sale at the Music Box priced at $21.